lumberman, businessman, railroad promoter, b. Detroit, Mich. He moved to Milwaukee in 1842 and opened a lumber business. Maintaining headquarters in Milwaukee, he purchased timberlands in Marinette, Shawano, and Oconto counties and operated sawmills at Stiles, Little Suamico, Oconto, and Fort Howard, eventually acquiring a fortune. He was an active promoter of early Wisconsin railroads, especially the Milwaukee and Watertown R.R. and the Milwaukee and Mississippi R.R. He was a director of the Milwaukee Gas Light Co., the Farmers' and Millers' Bank (established in Milwaukee in 1853), and the Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Co. J. G. Gregory, Hist. of Milwaukee (4 vols., Chicago, 1931); Hist. of N. Wis. (Chicago, 1881); Milwaukee Journal, Jan. 14, 1895; WPA field notes.

The Wisconsin Historical Society has manuscripts related to this topic. See the catalog description of the Eldred Anson Papers for details.

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[Source: Dictionary of Wisconsin biography]